Chasin'

Every summer Saturday night at 7:30,

the rodeo comes to town at the oldest weekly competition in this country,

Cowtown, in Woodstown, New Jersey.

All things “Cow”

and “Boy”

are for sale outside the arena…

…along with

“Your Picture on a Brahma Bull”…

…or a with a Giant Cowboy.

Cowgirl hats are de “rigueur” – you can buy one if you didn’t bring one (or you need a new one – and who doesn’t?).

You can also bring your own chairs and cooler

if you don’t want to sit in the stands

or eat the BBQ Pork Sandwich and crispy fries for sale at the concession (they were great!)

While waiting for the sun to go down

The arena is dragged…

to perfection,

little boys play with trucks

and guns,

and the bull riders line up and say a silent prayer,

because these bulls mean business.

and even the clown sometimes has to retreat to safety.

And here’s what The Crowd came to see:

The chute opens

and the ride begins, and ends, in six seconds.

How Steer Wrestling is done

and how its not

and

how Barrel Racing is done, in ten easy steps:

And a one

two

three

four

five

six

seven

eight

nine

ten and Done.

Holy Cow!

When my kids were four and six, nearly every Sunday we would head over to Vince Dugan’s, where there was a hunter show in progress, but more importantly, a food vendor.  That was the reason you went there:  you went for a donut.  Most of the other people thought you went there to ride a horse.

Some things remain the same across the disciplines.  Donuts and chocolate croissants just naturally go with kids and ponies.

Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds, like many other hunts during the summer, allows the community to ride out behind the staff and the new entry, hound puppies learning from their elders, kids and ponies (some on lead line, others off) learning from their own parents.

Mrs. John Hannum, the late Master of Cheshire, was a particular enthusiast of children hunting with their parents.  She heartily promoted families getting up early, hunting together ‘til late, then falling into bed exhausted – a secular take on “the family that prays together, stays together”.  Happily, Cheshire is still welcoming children into the hunt, widening participation in the summer houndwalking experience, to the community at large, landowners, their children and grandchildren.

Thanks to the efforts of one mother in particular, in the last few years, Cheshire riders large and small have enjoyed bug juice, coffee and chocolate croissants (and the occasional bundt cake) on their return to the kennel lawn.  During the regular hunt season, another member (and his generous wife) bring along a banquet size coffee pot and freshly baked goods (for 100, no less) on Saturdays.

The Mom-in-Question tells me that the kids are more interested in the treats than the hunting, but I think she is just kidding.

Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds

Opening Meet

St. Malachi’s Church

Coatesville, Pennsylvania

September 6, 2010

Houndwalking with Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds, Thursday, August 26, 2010.

Click on “Gone to Ground” to view a video slideshow set to music:

Gone to Ground

Crickets have ramped up their evening song and Venus is hovering above in the pre-dawn sky; autumn is close by.  An early morning ride through the meadow reveals another harbinger of fall, the web of the orb weaver spider, mist catching the early morning sunshine.  By the hundreds the spiders spin their webs, blanketing the grass and creating a fairy wonderland.

And then, unbelievably, I discover that the tiny droplets have created a rainbow.